This invention is an improvement upon the practicing device illustrated in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,536, and is applicable to other golf-swing practicing devices as well. My U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,536 is hereby incorporated by reference.
A number of golf-swing practicing devices have been developed. Such devices commonly include some mechanism whereby a ball, after being struck, travels in a circular or spiraling path about an upright pole or post. These devices enable golfers to practice their game indoors or in the confines of, for example, a backyard. Many of such devices are comprised of a rigid support arm which is mounted to rotate about a generally upright base comprised of a post. Devices such as these are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,091,985 to Thompson et al.; 3,643,961 to Schroeder; 2,641,932 to Van Kinkle; 1,690,158 to Currie; 4,407,503 to Nishizawa; 2,017,661 to Johanson; 4,023,809 to Newton; and my U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,536.
A goal in manufacturing any of such devices is to provide a sturdy, long-life hitting or support arm that also safely secures a golf-ball sized object at its outer hitting end. Securing of a golf-ball sized object to such arms has been conducted by both attaching a separate golf ball or golf-ball like object at the end of an arm, and also by integrally forming the ball at the end of the arm in conjunction with the formation of the arm itself. In either event, the goal is to prevent any tendency of the golf-ball sized object to be separated from the remainder of the arm primarily for safety reasons, and also to provide a sturdy product that can take repeated hard hits to provide a suitably long life to satisfy the user of the product.